Unclogging An Old Artery

May 22, 1986|By Gray

Don't count Orange Blossom Trail as one of those roads, like Semoran Boulevard, that came out of nowhere to be overdeveloped during the 1970s boom. No, Orange Blossom Trail has been, well, the Trail, for many, many years. Yet it's still a mess.

The worst stretch must be the part between Interstate 4 and Holden Avenue. It's not new development but old development, like one-story hotels and Florida souvenir stands, that has clogged that part of the four-lane highway.

What happens is that drivers slow down every few feet to turn into one of these businesses, and that slows everyone down. Put that on top of the fact that the road is carrying almost twice as many cars as it was designed for. No wonder people want to avoid Orange Blossom Trail.

But what alternative is there as a major north-south route? Actually, none. If you want to go from Orlando to Osceola County, as many people are doing, you have little choice. For one thing, the Trail is a main road off I- 4, the East-West Expressway and Florida's Turnpike.

Something else is that Osceola County is growing like gangbusters. Many people who live in Osceola County work in Orlando and need to use that route every day.

Still, the stretch between I-4 and Holden never has been assigned a high enough priority to get fixed. As bad as it is, other roads in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties are ahead of it. That tells you something about the severity of road problems in the Orlando area.

There is a solution. Orange Blossom Trail between I-4 and Holden Avenue is one of about 50 roads that will be fixed if voters in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties approve a road referendum June 3. All voters have to do is vote yes to creating the Metropolitan Transportation

Authority, which would improve the roads with gasoline and property taxes. If the referendum is not approved, there will be no money available to widen this road to six lanes.

Ironically, some of the people who would benefit most from fixing this road are fighting against creating the MTA. A majority of Osceola County commissioners refuse to support the referendum because they don't like using property taxes for roads.

These are the same commissioners who welcome growth to Osceola County with open arms. It doesn't make any sense why they want the growth without the adequate services to support it. Then again, maybe that attitude should come as no surprise. It explains why traffic got so bad in the first place.